The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-02-25
CHINESE MARRIAGES.
THE LAND WHERE CHILDREN NINE
YEARS OF AGE ARE BETROTHGD.

Celestial BIuebeards with Hundreds q
Wivcs-Lovo Letters and Courtship I'm
known-Bigamy Case-An Interview
with Mr.. Hong Wing.
"a Chinese love letter! Havo I any oil
fashioned Chinese love letters In my trunk
Havo a gilt edged Chinese billet-doux witt
monogram like crows track? There
was never lovo letter written in Chinese
No Chinese maiden ever penned billet
doux or sent q valentine l-.. .t.
Rather sadly was this said By romantic
young Chinaman, Mr.. Hong Wing, who /.
noted among tho Chinese for tho skill will
which no plays on tho mandolin.
"In China" continued he, "a man neve,
secs his wife until no is welded to her fol
lifo, and sometimes no does not see her then,
for sho may refuse to remove her veil until
three days have elapsed after the wedding.
II ho dosen't like her he cannot ret di-
vorcc, but he may marry another wife, and
then another and another, until no has gone
through tho blindfold lottery often enough
to get ono that suits him. Some of the
Chinese Croesuses havo hundreds of wives.
There was IN old bachelor who took it into
married 200 wives before he got through.
Tho last wife Is the favorite, but the first
ono Is tho boss. "
eff man never sees his wife before their
wedding, how does he mako love to her?''
"IIe doesn't make love to her. His
mother arrangcs the match, and his future
mother-in-law makes love to him. 1t is q
so;.r courtship. Children arc formally en-
gagged to other children that they have never
s,en at the tender age of or 10, and after
an engagement of 10 or 10 years they get
married"
"Docs Chinaman ever marry his
cousin?'
"No; marriage of cousins was never
heard of in China. A man may no more
marry lis cousin in China than in England he
my marry his deceased wife's sister. You
talk about your old families here, and your
Oldest families are only five generations DID,
In China families are seventy-five and eighty
generations old, and every member has a
complete record of his ancestors for all
these generations. The rcmotest kinship
prevents marriage in China, and if two
families have the faintest Imaginable kin
ship soventy-five generations back their
children cannot marry"
"What are the most common families in
your country?"
"The Chens, the Wongs, and the Lees.
The Chens are the Smiths of China, the
Wongs are the Jones, and the Lees are the
Browns. A Mr.. Chen would marry Miss
Wong, but he wouldn't marry Miss Chen.
Perhaps that is the reason the old folks
make the matches. 1t prevents the Chens
from falling in love with one anothcr.''
care the Chinese ladies cultivated?''
"Oh, yes; they can read and write, draw,
paint and embroider. They never 60 out
on the street with their husbands II
Chinese man and woman were to walk on
American men and women do, they would
be mobbed. The women stay indoors. If
they wish to visit their mothers they take
Sometimes they may be seen
walking in the park with their children"
"You arc married."
eyes"
"To Chinese lady9''
"No; to an American. came to this
i0u was y TaSn m BOY sSns Oh nv bs4
oetrothed mo to little Chinese girl had
never seen. My mother used to write to me
was, and what beautiful cat-like nose she
lad. When I was 90 years old mother sent
nc letter saying I was oldenough to get
married and must come back to China and
marry the girl"
"What did you think about it?''
81 thought was old enough, and so fell
,eels over queue in love with an American
,irl in Nevada and married her. We had
,ur pictures taken, and sent one to my
mother, together with an account of tho
Wedding, which translated from an Ameri-
an newspaper into Chinese"
what happened?"
''The next thing I knew my uncle and
our cousins came on to the United States
md had me arrested for bigamy. I was
AIKEN before court and tried. My uncle
vent on to the stand and swore that had q
wife in China"
"What did you think thenY'
81 thought was in box, as you Aneri-
ans say. The judge asked tho witnesses
low old I was when I left China They re-
lied that my mother had picked her out
or me, and that in Chinese law was tho
amo as marriage. The judge said that
hey didn't have any Chinese statutes in this
ountry, and my uncle innocently replied that
@ would send to China for some. Every
ody in tho court laughed, and as I lived
n the town ever since came to America,
II knew that had left China little boy,
0 the jury acquitted me. My uncle told
he judge that he would be beheaded when
o went back to China, which was mon
trous fib with which he intended to scare
he judge. I have never been back to
nina, and suppose the ittlo girl whom I |